Contacted by AFP, Turkish foreign ministry officials said Ankara "has taken the necessary initiative on the issue," without elaborating further.

The Israeli aircraft violated the airspace of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus five times in Monday's incident which saw Turkish fighter jets chase out the Israeli plane, the Turkish army command said in a statement.

It gave no other details about the incident nor the type of Israeli plane involved in the alleged incursion over the Turkish Cypriot part of the island, which is recognized only by Ankara.

Israel and Greek Cyprus have both discovered huge offshore natural gas deposits in the Mediterranean Sea and have tentatively discussed cooperation on delivering gas to European and Asian markets.

The drilling for gas and oil in the seabed off Cyprus which began last year angered Turkey, which says it abuses the northern Turk Cypriots' rights to the same resources.

In April, Turkey launched its own exploratory drilling in the seabed offshore the TRNC in the north, drawing a sharp response from the government of Greek Cyprus, which labelled the action as illegal.